Funemployment - Part II

October - December 2017

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Traveler Funemployment - Part II
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- Oct 31, 2017, 10:00am
- 🌧 25 °C
- Altitude: 158 m
- United States Hawaii Honolulu County Palolo Homes 21.302353, -157.78372221°18’8” N 157°47’1” W
Day 1
Prologue
October 31, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
When I left my old job, I put word out that I would be looking for a job on my return. In September, while I was in transit in Singapore between Australia and Myanmar, one of my targeted future employers contacted me. He had hired me as a consultant in the past, and he was interested in hiring me as part of a new company initiative. We had lunch the day after I returned from Cuba. I'm reasonably certain that I have my next job lined up, but it will take some time for him to work out the specifics. We discussed a January start date.

So, I can't think of a better thing to do for two months than travel some more! Welcome to the Midlife Crisis Flashpacking Trip Part II.

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- Oct 31, 2017, 12:00pm
- ☁️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 18 m
- United States Hawaii Honolulu County Mokumoa Island (historical)Honolulu International Airport 21.331474, -157.92001321°19’53” N 157°55’12” W
Day 1
Honolulu to Tokyo Narita
October 31, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Japan Airlines JL781 | HNL/NRT
Business Class
Boeing 777-200ER | JA710J
ATD/1205 | ATA/1552+1
Lounge: Sakura Lounge

I redeemed miles for my flights to Singapore as I had already qualified for Platinum status with American Airlines with my prior travel, and it didn't make sense for me to pursue the next level of status.Read more
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- Nov 1, 2017, 6:00pm
- 🌙 16 °C
- Altitude: 58 m
- Japan Chiba Sanrizuka Narita International Airport 35.773857, 140.38888535°46’26” N 140°23’20” E
Day 2
Tokyo Narita to Hong Kong
November 1, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 16 °C
Japan Airlines JL735 | NRT/HKG
Business Class
Boeing 787-8 | JA822J
ATD/1809 | ATA/2155
Lounge: Sakura Lounge
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- Nov 2, 2017, 9:00am
- ☀️ 21 °C
- Altitude: 441 m
- Hong Kong Islands District Ngong Ping 22.255362, 113.90428222°15’19” N 113°54’15” E
Day 3
Ngong Ping
November 2, 2017 in Hong Kong ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
I landed in HK at night on November 1st and made my way to the Regal Airport Hotel where I had booked a room with American Express points that I was unlikely to use otherwise.

On the morning of November 2nd, I checked out and left my larger backpack with the concierge. Walking out of the hotel, I found the bus stop easily and hopped onto a bus to Tung Chung. The bus journey took about 15 minutes. Crossing the bridge into Tung Chung, I saw the cable car station and immediately alighted.

There was a bit of a queue for the cable car when I got there at 9.45am, which was just ahead of the operating hours which start at 10am. I bought a standard cable car ticket for HKD210 (about USD30). The line moved quickly and I was on a cable car by 10.10am. The cable car journey took about 25 minutes, climbing up some very steep mountain sides. It was hazy, but I could still get good views of Lantau Island, the airport, and a huge infrastructure project - a bridge linking Hong Kong to Macau and Zhuhai.

The cable car deposited me at Ngong Ping Village which, not surprisingly, turned out to be a tourist trap. I wasn’t there for the touristy stuff anyway. I walked through the village and found my way to the Tian Tan Buddha, which was a big and very impressive sitting Buddha atop a long flight of stairs. There was an exhibition hall underneath the Buddha but it wasn’t well annotated so I didn’t learn much from it.

After visiting the Buddha, I went to Po Ling Monastery. The monastery grounds were nice and shady and there were a couple of impressive halls. I had a good lunch at the vegetarian restaurant on the grounds.

After lunch, I sought out the Path of Wisdom, located about 15 minutes walk away from the monastery. The Path of Wisdom has a series of halved tree trunks with wise sayings carved into them. Unfortunately, I didn’t come away from this walk any wiser because I couldn’t read the inscriptions, which were in Chinese.

After a very pleasant few hours atop the mountain, I took the cable car back down, boarded a bus back to the airport, retrieved my bag, and checked in for my onward leg to Singapore.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tian-tan-bu…

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- Nov 2, 2017, 4:00pm
- ☁️ 26 °C
- Altitude: 25 m
- Hong Kong Islands District Sham Wan Tsuen Chek Lap Kok Airport 22.31538, 113.93526522°18’55” N 113°56’7” E
Day 3
Hong Kong to Singapore
November 2, 2017 in Hong Kong ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Cathay Pacific CX711 | HKG/SIN
Business Class
Boeing 777-300ER | B-KQX
ATD/1613 | ATA/2002
Lounge: The Bridge
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- Nov 6, 2017, 9:00am
- ⛅ 25 °C
- Altitude: 20 m
- Singapore Kampong Ayer Gemuruh Singapore Changi Airport 1.355341, 103.9893651°21’19” N 103°59’22” E
Day 7
Singapore to Kuala Lumpur
November 6, 2017 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Malaysia Airlines MH604 | SIN/KUL
Economy Class
Boeing 737-800 | 9M-MLV
ATD/0952 | ATA/1056
Lounge: SATS Premier Lounge
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- Nov 6, 2017, 12:00pm
- ⛅ 30 °C
- Altitude: 63 m
- Malaysia Selangor Ladang Lothian Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2.752475, 101.7055282°45’9” N 101°42’20” E
Day 7
Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi
November 6, 2017 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Malaysia Airlines MH788 | KUL/BKK
Economy Class
Boeing 737-800 | 9M-MXO
ATD/1214 | ATA/1323
Lounge: Golden Lounge (Main Terminal)
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- Nov 6, 2017, 6:00pm
- ☁️ 27 °C
- Altitude: 26 m
- Thailand Changwat Samut Prakan Ban Khlong Nong Kha Suvarnabhumi Airport 13.692093, 100.75083913°41’32” N 100°45’3” E
Day 7
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Chiang Rai
November 6, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
Bangkok Airways PG235 | BKK/CEI
Economy Class
Airbus A320-200 | HS-PGW Samui
ATD/1911 | ATA/2033
Lounge: Bangkok Airways Lounge

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I landed at Chiang Rai Airport on the evening of November 6th, after a day of long connections and delayed flights. I took Bangkok Airways - who market themselves as "Asia’s Boutique Airline" - from Bangkok to Chiang Rai. They certainly live up to this name, with low fares, no hidden extras (checked bags, seat selection, meals are all free) and a lounge stocked with food and drinks for all passengers(!) to enjoy. They served a hot meal on a 60 minute flight. You have to wonder how they make money.

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- Nov 6, 2017, 7:00pm
- 🌧 22 °C
- Altitude: 433 m
- Thailand Changwat Chiang Rai Ban Pong Luang Mae Fah Luang-Chiang Rai International Airport 19.954218, 99.87909819°57’15” N 99°52’45” E
Day 7
Arrival in Chiang Rai
November 6, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 22 °C
On the flight, there was a group of young Korean men wearing the same salmon pink blazers. Nobody paid special attention to them on the flight, but at baggage claim there were screaming teenagers waving Thai and South Korean flags. I haven’t figured out who these men were; a google search didn’t reveal any special events in town.

I took a taxi from the airport to my accommodation - Baan Baramee - located in downtown Chiang Rai. I breathed the cool air. It felt so good to be back in Thailand. This is a culture I have lived in, and I was so happy to be immersed back in it, albeit only for a few days while I make my way to the Laotian border.

After checking in I went on a quick jaunt to 7-11 for some snacks before turning in for the night.

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- Nov 7, 2017, 9:00am
- 🌧 22 °C
- Altitude: 402 m
- Thailand Changwat Chiang Rai Ban Nang Lae 19.992028, 99.86060319°59’31” N 99°51’38” E
Day 8
Baan Dam
November 7, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 22 °C
After breakfast, I made my way to the nearby bus station and boarded a bus bound for Mae Sai to get to Baan Dam, which is along the highway to Mae Sai. The journey took about 15 minutes, at which time I disembarked and followed the directional signs to my destination.

Baan Dam, or Black House, is a complex of about 40 structures located north of Chiang Rai. The buildings and their contents are the brainchild of an artist named Thawan Duchanee. I got there just after opening time and I saw that there was a tour bus full of package tourists from China already there. Rather inexplicably, they were primarily interested in filming themselves doing a group dance to the Mandarin equivalent of Three Blind Mice. They did it over and over.

The Baan Dam grounds and the buildings were very interesting. Almost all the buildings were black or a very dark brown, and the artist made interesting use of items such as buffalo skulls and horns and crocodile skins juxtaposed against cash and other more mundane items. I‘m not quite sure how to interpret the exhibits other than to speculate that the artist was expressing his thoughts about how humans interact with their environment and with one another.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/black-temple

After over an hour on the grounds, I made my way back to the highway. Although it was only 10.30am, I was already hungry. I didn’t want to eat at the touristy restaurants immediately adjacent to Baan Dam, but the only nearby place I could find along the highway was a little cafe selling overpriced fried rice.

After eating, I waited along the highway for about 10 minutes until a Chiang Rai bound bus came along. The highway was Highway 1, also known as Pahol Yothin Road. The mind boggles to think that this road goes all the way to Bangkok, right up to the apartment I lived in back in 1994-95.

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